Baseball notebook: Seattle options struggling starter Taijuan Walker to minors
In the midst of the wild card race in the American League, the Seattle Mariners determined they don’t have the time to wait for Taijuan Walker to rediscover the potential he showed earlier in the season.
The Mariners optioned the struggling Walker to Triple-A Tacoma on Monday, a surprising move that the club hopes will jump start his sluggish performances on the mound. Walker was the corresponding move made when Seattle activated recently acquired reliever Arquimedes Caminero.
“Where we’re at right now as a team and as an organization, I mean his last 13 starts he’s had like three quality starts,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “It may be different if we were 10 or 15 games below .500. We’re not thanks to the guys in that clubhouse who continue to play good baseball and we’re a few games over. It’s about winning and who gives us the best chance to go out and compete and give us the best chance to win next time out.”
Walker made his first start in a month last Saturday but allowed six runs in four innings against the Angels. Walker missed most of July because of tendinitis in his right foot and made only one rehab start in the minors before rejoining the Mariners. Walker is 4-7 with a 4.10 ERA but after the opening month of the season has been on a progressive slide. Between May 1 and July 5, Walker made 12 starts and pitched at least six innings only three times.
Servais said the club is sending a message to Walker that with the Mariners in playoff contention his performances must get better. Servais is hoping Walker takes a similar attitude to pitcher James Paxton and catcher Mike Zunino, who both started the season in the minors and are now key contributors for the Mariners.
“We certainly think Taijuan Walker is a big part of our future, just like I said with Paxton and Zunino, but right now we need to take a step back and do what is best for him,” Servais said. “I’m pretty confident he will take on the challenge and he’ll be back.”
Ariel Miranda will step into Walker’s spot in the rotation and start on Friday when the Mariners begin a series in Oakland. Seattle may need to make another adjustment to its rotation after Paxton took a line drive off his left, pitching elbow late in his victory over the Angels on Sunday. X-rays were negative and Paxton was receiving treatment on Monday. He is expected to make his next turn in the rotation, but with a day off upcoming, the Mariners may shuffle the rotation order to give Paxton an extra day or two of rest.
“We’ve got some wiggle room there,” Servais said.
Giants’ manager Bochy hospitalized
Giants manager Bruce Bochy was admitted to a Miami hospital after falling ill and missed Monday night’s game against the Marlins.
The Giants did not specify what sent the 61-year-old Bochy to the hospital Monday morning. They said in a statement that he is “resting comfortably” and will be monitored overnight.
Bochy underwent a heart procedure in February 2015 to insert two stents.
The Giants say they expect him to return Tuesday. Bochy led the team to World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Bench coach Ron Wotus served as manager in the opener of the three-game series in Miami.
Ichiro Suzuki donates 3,000-hit souvenirs to Hall of Fame
The president of the Baseball Hall of Fame was the grateful recipient as Ichiro Suzuki handed over his gear – a jersey, a pair of cleats, his arm guard and batting gloves, all items he wore while becoming the 30th player to reach 3,000 hits.
When the exchange concluded, the two men bowed to each other, a fitting gesture to celebrate the bridge from Japan to Cooperstown.
Suzuki began building that bridge when he came to the major leagues as a 27-year-old rookie in 2001. Three-thousand hits later, he’s a memorabilia-making machine.
The Suzuki collection at the Hall of Fame numbered more than two dozen items even before his triple Sunday at Colorado, which made him the first Japanese player to reach 3,000 hits. When he and his teammates returned to Marlins Park to begin a homestand, Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson was there to collect additional Suzuki souvenirs.
“Jeff asked me about the stuff,” Suzuki said through an interpreter. “I was happy to give it to him. I have an agreement with Jeff that when I die, all of my stuff is going to go to Jeff and the Hall of Fame.”
Suzuki, a baseball history buff, has visited Cooperstown six times.
“There is no current player I’ve encountered who has as deep an appreciation of baseball history as Ichiro,” Idelson said. “This is a guy who understands his place in history. Because of that, as a sport and as a country, we’re all the richer.”
While Major League Baseball celebrated Suzuki’s achievement, it was even bigger news back home. Several dozen reporters and photographers from Japan had been logging lots of air miles following their nation’s most famous athlete as he approached the milestone and then went into a slump.
With the triple in Denver – only his second hit in 17 at-bats since July 29 – he said his overriding emotion was relief that so many of his countrymen would be reunited with their families.
“For the last couple of weeks there have been a lot of members of the media following me,” Suzuki said. “I’m just so happy they can go back to their homes now.”
Suzuki’s characteristically humble attitude regarding his achievement transcended the language barrier. When asked to name the most famous person to congratulate him on 3,000 hits, he responded in English.
“Justin Bour,” he said, drawing laughter.
Bour, the Marlins’ rotund first baseman, is famous mostly in his own family but expressed gratitude for the recognition from Suzuki.
“I think he’s just trying to make me feel better after he blasted me yesterday for being fat,” Bour said.
Suzuki, Bour and the Marlins are in playoff contention for a change. Miami hasn’t been to the postseason since 2003, and Suzuki has made it only twice in his 16-year career.
“Small things turn into big things,” he said. “I hope our team can continue to do the small things and they’ll turn into big things.”
Meticulous preparation is a Suzuki hallmark, and he spoke at a news conference more than four hours before Monday’s game already in uniform. That included sunglasses atop the bill of his cap, even though he was going to be playing indoors at night.
While ready for action, he was in need of a new bat. Suzuki put aside the one that produced the historic triple, one of the few mementoes he has kept.
“I really don’t have much,” he said. “Most of it is in my home in Seattle. It’s something I think I’ll enjoy once I become a grandpa.”
At 42, he’s old enough to be thinking about grandchildren – and retirement. He has often said he wants to play until at least 50 but sidestepped that subject Monday, saying he’s taking it one at-bat at time.
With Suzuki’s help, even baseball clichis have gone global.
Blue Jays place OF Pillar on DL with sprained left thumb
Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left thumb.
Outfielder Darrell Ceciliani has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo and started in left field Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Former Tampa Bay outfielder Mevin Upton Jr. is replacing Pillar in center field.
Pillar sat out Sunday’s loss at Kansas City after damaging a ligament in his thumb when he slid into second base Saturday night.
Before Sunday, Pillar had played in 109 of Toronto’s 111 games. Known for his highlight-reel catches, Pillar is batting .261 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs.
Ceciliani played 39 games for the Mets last season and appeared in two with Toronto in June. He batted .268 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs in 71 games at Triple-A.